


The Light in the End

by mrichar7



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Finn is Bi, Fluff and Angst, Force Bond (Star Wars), Multi, POV Ben Solo, POV Rey (Star Wars), Rey Needs A Hug (Star Wars), Weddings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-19 12:15:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29874522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrichar7/pseuds/mrichar7
Summary: A good old fashioned fix-it for the Rise of Skywalker. Or, more literally, a total reimagining of the last movie in the sequel trilogy. A final movie needs more character resolution, and a happy ending!“You know where to find me.” He said before returning inside. Rey closed her eyes and clutched Finn’s jacket, the one Poe had given him when they first met. Finn, Poe, Rose, they were all here. Rey could talk and laugh and hug them all with ease. They supported her, they were her family, and Rey couldn’t picture her life without them. But she could feel Ben too, as though he was standing right there across from her. And despite the family she had nearby, all Rey wanted was Ben.
Relationships: Finn/Rose Tico, Poe Dameron/Original Character(s), Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	The Light in the End

The deep valleys on the northernmost continent of Ioe weren’t much to look at for most of the year. The northern position on the planet made it so the sun rarely breached the top of the surrounding mountains and hills. An essentially year-long darkness kept most wild plants and flowers at bay, and paved the way for frequent hungry periods as an especially rainy season made farming nearly impossible.

The result was a landscape devoid of much beauty, open fields of yellow grass dotted with wheat and corn farms in the most sunlit areas. The trees were squat, low to the ground, and unlike the sturdy desert trees which thrived with little rain, were thin and sickly looking. As though a strong breeze might take them out for good. The trees and humanoid residents had that in common.

A regular dose of hungry periods in each generation kept them thin and sickly looking as well. The sole trading post on Ioe was on the southern continent, regular shipments of goods from off-world kept the southerners sturdy and well fed in their desert climate. The west and east continents had easy access to the south through the water channels for cheap goods, and air travel for the expensive goods.

The lack of goods to trade in the north kept most outsiders away, their money with them. This left little funding for any air lifted goods to be brought into the dark valleys. The lowest point in the north was nearly uninhabitable, no fresh water rivers or creeks and an abundance of rocky soil made stays longer than a couple weeks impossible. All the traded goods that were brought by water then had to be animal-driven to the valleys, a long and uncomfortable trip.

All this made visits from outsiders, whether the curious or to bring trade, slim to none. Traders from the south handed off their goods to the northerners who met them at the rocky shoreline, before returned home to shake the chill air from their bones and pray to their gods that they had the good fortune to be born _anywhere_ but the north.

Hard times and cold air naturally turned the northerners into hard men and women, their free-spirited children playing long into their childhoods without the burden of school soon became worn down as they began to work with their families. The only reprieve came for two weeks of the year, in what was known as the Festival of Sol.

In the height of summer, the sun would finally breach the top of the hills, and stay that way for two-straight weeks. The valley residents would throw open the doors to their huts and let the sun warm their homes freely while they slept on soft outdoor mats in the center of the village. The festival would begin on the first day at dawn, with the villagers greeting their long awaited sun. The entire two-weeks were spent communally, with large cook outs using much of their traded goods from the south in favor of the usual wheat-heavy diets to sustain themselves.

There was no hierarchy amongst the villagers, though if there was they’d likely elect Heimdorn Elkwood. He was the rare villager to actually move to the north after living elsewhere for most of his life. Elkwood didn’t share many details of his life before settling down on Ioe, he was an old man, which was respected in the north. And to show their respect most villagers refrained from prying.

Elkwood often held court with the village youngsters, usually in the town square. Ringed with shops built decades previously with a combination of traded and scavenged wood, a hopeful villager of the past had even built a fountain. Unfortunately there was never enough power to run a fountain, even for the Festival of Sol. For Elkwood though, the fountain made a brilliant place to sit and cheerily talk with his young friends.

It was rumored that Elkwood was a Jedi in his previous life. Although the force was known to be accessible to all in northern Ioe, Elkwood had a practiced way of explaining the force to the children. His efforts unknowingly made northern Ioe a bustling hub in force activity, energy from himself and the children he gently coached reached wide into the galaxy. Energy that hadn’t been seen in the galaxy since academies for training Jedi were popularized again fifteen years previously. Such a significant spot of power isn’t easily hidden, especially when there are those who roam the galaxy looking for force signatures matching that of the northern Ioe village.

In the early hours of the morning, before the sun was set to rise on the first day of the Festival of Sol, a silent single passenger ship landed in an off-year wheat field. The tall, dead grass provided an adequate cover for the pilot to descend from their ship and walk briskly towards the village square.

The pilot was Ben Solo, still hiding his true name from all those beneath him under the cover of Kylo Ren. Perhaps one day, in retirement maybe, Ben would return to his original moniker. Retirement in Ben’s line of work though, was an unlikely conceit.

Ben had been acting as Supreme Leader of the First Order for the past three years, and had passed on most of his duties to the ungainly Armitage Hux. Hux was more than willing to accept most formal duties of the Supreme Leader, and did so with an enthusiasm that could turn Ben’s mood south in a matter of seconds when meetings between them were necessary.

Shunting the daily duties of the First Order off to someone else left Ben able to pursue his latest fixation, knowledge of the force that had been lost for centuries. Even as a student himself at the Jedi training academy led by his late uncle, Ben wasn’t able to study the origins of human power over the force. That information had been lost decades before Ben was born, and he was determined to find the root of it now. His passion for force knowledge began, of course with the girl. Rey.

Ben hated to even think of her, she’d been shutting him out for three years. Refusing to help him in his quest, even as the root of it had to do with their force bond. Ben’s previous master, Snoke, lied when he’d said that the bond was created by him. The force had done this, and there were no records to explain why.

With Rey purposefully ignoring him, Ben was left to discover the cause on his own. Bringing him to the beacon of light from the force originating on Ioe. Ben had unsurprisingly been to this planet before, to the southern trading post. That was back when his father had allowed him to travel on the Millennium Falcon as he made trading runs, before Ben was shuttled off to be trained by his uncle.

The village square was empty when he arrived, a quick glance revealed where the residential huts were located. But the call of the force was more than enough of a map. It was a different sort of call than Ben was accustomed to, it was almost singing to him. The light. It had called to Ben before, an ever present nagging that he pushed away with easy practice.

There were more than a few huts lit from inside by candlelight, Ben could see a few of the occupants as he walked down the hard packed earth that made a road. They had the telltale signs of the Ioe population, with their jet black hair and light blue skin. Ben noticed that these northern villagers seemed paler then he remembered. If not for his towering height, Ben may have passed for an Ioe resident himself.

The hut he was looking for was placed at the very end of a long row, this one was lit from the inside as well. Ben didn’t bother himself with knocking, pulling the door open and stepping inside without invitation. The hut itself was one room, meaning that Ben nearly walked into the owner as he crossed the threshold. It was an old man, and he appeared unsurprised at Ben’s sudden arrival. He gave Ben a bemused smile, and stopped busying himself to sit down on the single chair in the hut.

Ben waited for the man to speak, determined to assert his dominance from the outset. The man looked him up and down. The hair on top of the man’s head was nearly gone, it seemed to have migrated to the lower half of his face, which was covered with scraggly white hair. He had smile lines at his eyes, and as he sat in his chair the image of a melting frozen treat for children came to mind. It was clear this man was not an Ioet, he was an outsider.

“You don’t have long.” Ben decided to break the silence, a looming threat to cover up that the old man had held the room long enough to bring Ben to speak first.

“Really?” Was all the man responded with, the bemused expression replaced with one of pleasant peace.

“Not just you, this village as well. Do you know who I am?” Ben asked, attempting to ratchet up the stakes.

“There are no First Order posts on Ioe, but we know of you.” The man spoke with a lifting tone, an accent unlike Ben’s.

“Tell me who you are, and what you know of the force. I’ll spare your life, and the life of anyone in this village who agrees to bow to First Order rule.” Ben said, getting to his point.

“Ah, the force. Have you come looking for a teacher, young man? You could do worse than me I suppose. I am known as Elkwood. Grandfather Elkwood to my young friends.”

“I do not need a teacher, I know the force as well as anyone.” Ben couldn’t help but be affronted by the assumption.

“Then why is it you seek out force knowledge? Are you weary of the unbalance inside yourself? I can feel it as easy as you can, I presume. How painful that must be.” Elkwood said, true sympathy in his tone.

Ben grasped the hilt of his lightsaber briefly, letting the anger flare up, wash over him, and then leave. “Ancient knowledge of the force has been lost for longer than my lifetime. I’ll ask again, tell me what you know about the force. I’ve traced a force signature stronger than I’ve ever felt back to you.”

“You don’t want to simply read my mind?” Elkwood said, seemingly prodding. Ben took a step forward and knelt down before Elkwood in an intimidating manner. He was still taller then the old man even from this position. It was a move meant to convey power, but in truth Ben had avoided reading the minds of others ever since the incident with Rey aboard his ship. When he had read her mind, and received a shock as she flipped the trick back onto him and delved into his own thoughts. A force user such as Elkwood would more than likely be able to do the same thing.

“Tell me what you know about force bonds.” Ben said evenly, a command more than a question.

“Young man, do you know of Order 66?” Elkwood asked.

“Common knowledge.” Ben would not be swerved, he was not bluffing about the First Order. They would arrive soon to take control of Ioe, setting up a base on the northern continent at Ben’s request.

“Then you know the bloody history of the Jedi, along with the destruction of most secrets of the force.” A hardness to Elkwood’s voice appeared for the first time.

“So you know nothing.” Ben stood, giving himself some space in an effort to reign in his anger.

“Oh, I know of force bonds. A powerful link, and a dangerous one. But I won’t explain further, I do not take kindly to threats.” Elkwood said, the light tone returning to him again.

A distant boom in the upper atmosphere signaled the arrival of the First Order, the telltale scream of Tie Fighter ships could be heard a moment later.

“You’re out of time.” Ben said, unclipping the weapon from his belt.

Elkwood fixed him with a sympathetic stare, “I am?” It was clear he didn’t mean himself. Ben stomped his lightsaber into activation, the red glow filling the tiny hut.

“It’s a shame we’ll miss the festival, I do hope your First Order friends will let the villagers celebrate. I’ll say hello to your mother when I go, shall I?” Elkwood said as he got to his feet.

The acknowledgement of his mother sent Ben over the edge, with a cry of rage Ben brought down his saber with a mighty swing.

******

Far across the galaxy, Rey startled awake. She sat up quickly, her hair a mess and tangled with sweat that ran down the back of her neck. Her timepiece suggested she’d only been asleep for an hour. Wide awake, Rey leapt out of her bunk and raced out of the sleeping bay. She didn’t stop until she was outdoors, the night air chilly and whipping with wind.

Rey was shaking, she crouched down and attempted to make sense of things. She had a feeling it was Ben, he was much harder to keep out of her mind when she was asleep. The usual ache of sadness drifted in as Rey thought of Ben and her inability to bring him back to the light. She often wondered if Ben felt the same way about her.

“Rey?” Someone called, she turned around to see Finn. Rose was there too, standing slightly more indoors.

“I’m okay, bad dream. That’s all.” Rey called loudly over the wind, she realized she’d never put on shoes. Her feet were now almost an inch down in mud. Finn turned to say something to Rose, she nodded and stepped away while Finn jogged out to meet Rey.

“Do you want to do a meditation?” Finn asked. Rey appreciated the sweet gesture, but Finn wasn’t who she was longing for at the moment.

“Thank you, but I’m going back in. I just need a second.” Finn nodded, he took off his jacket and threw it over Rey’s shoulders.

“You know where to find me.” He said before returning inside. Rey closed her eyes and clutched Finn’s jacket, the one Poe had given him when they first met. Finn, Poe, Rose, they were all here. Rey could talk and laugh and hug them all with ease. They supported her, they were her family, and Rey couldn’t picture her life without them. But she could feel Ben too, as though he was standing right there across from her. And despite the family she had nearby, all Rey wanted was Ben.

But she couldn’t have him, and the only person she could blame for that was herself.

Eeeee! The first post is always the scariest, will anyone like this? Who knows!! But I do, and don't worry, Rey won't spend much time feeling sorry for herself. We're all a bit fragile when we wake up too early, right? Thanks for reading!


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